Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford / Manuel Balce Ceneta, AP

by Jim Michaels, USA TODAY

by Jim Michaels, USA TODAY

"The room is almost empty," said Graham, R-S.C., glancing at the empty press and audience seats in the hearing room. "I remember when all these rows were full with people â?¦ everybody was hanging on every word about Afghanistan."

Indeed, hearings on Afghanistan and Iraq were once raucous affairs, the rooms were often packed with observers and protesters, and the debate was closely watched by the press and public.

On Wednesday, when Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, the top coalition commander in Afghanistan, came before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Republicans and Democrats came together to lament the fact that the public and the press are losing interest in the war.

The war isn't over. There are nearly 34,000 U.S. troops who remain in Afghanistan today. More than 2,200 Americans have been killed there and thousands more wounded.

The United States has said it would like to keep a U.S. contingent in Afghanistan after this year when the current combat mission ends.

Sen. Carl Levin, the chairman of the committee, cited polling in both countries that showed declining American support for the U.S. presence in Afghanistan at the same time a majority of Afghans feel their life has improved over the past decade.

"How is it that a large majority of the Afghan people think that conditions in Afghanistan are improving when most Americans do not?" Levin asked.

"Unfortunately, the American people rarely read about positive developments in Afghanistan," Levin said. "Instead, the media focus almost exclusively on negative incidents, depriving the American people of the sense of accomplishment that they would receive if they were provided a balanced view."

Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., piled on. "While the American people are not being given the entire picture of the success story there the Afghan people see it on the ground," he said.

The U.S. mission after this year remains up in the air.

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has refused to sign the security agreement that would allow American forces to stay after this year. U.S. officials are hoping to have an agreement signed with a new president.

Afghan presidential elections are scheduled for April 5 and Karzai cannot seek another term. All major candidates have said they would support the agreement, Dunford said.

Afghan forces have proven effective in the fight against the Taliban, but they still need U.S. help in building the systems required to supply and maintain a large army in the field, U.S. officials have said.

"If we leave at the end of 2014 the Afghan security forces will begin to deteriorate," Dunford said. "The security environment will begin to deteriorate. I think the only debate is the pace of that deterioration."

The White House has not made an announcement on the size of the post-2014 U.S. contingent, preferring to wait until an agreement is reached with the Afghan government.

However, NATO has recommended an international force of between 8,000 and 12,000 troops, two-thirds of which would probably be American. In addition, Americans would provide a counter-terrorism force whose mission would be to target al-Qaeda and its affiliates.

Dunford cited vast improvements in Afghanistan, saying that terror networks have been weakened, Afghan forces have improved and the people there have more opportunities.

The Taliban no longer represent an "existential threat" to the Afghan government, he said.

"It's fair to ask if we are winning in Afghanistan," Dunford said. "I believe the answer is yes."